ST LOUIS: Monsanto Company’s shareholders yesterday overwhelmingly approved a $57 billion merger with Bayer AG, a deal that would combine two of the world’s biggest agricultural companies.
Preliminary results showed that 99 per cent of all votes cast favoured the merger announced in September, St Louis-based Monsanto said. Shareholders will receive $128 per share in cash at the closing of the merger, which must still receive regulatory approval. Monsanto said the deal is expected to close by the end of 2017.
Bayer, the German medicine and farm-chemical maker, and Monsanto, maker of seeds, herbicides and pesticides among other agricultural products, have faced concern from some government and agro industry leaders who worry the merger will hurt farmers by reducing competition at a time when the agriculture economy has slowed.
The National Farmers Union has said the merger would mean that three companies would have more than 80pc of US corn seed sales and 70pc of the global pesticide market.
The merger calls for Bayer to pay $57bn to Monsanto shareholders and assume $9bn in Monsanto debt.
Bayer sells crop protection chemicals used to kill weeds, insects and plant fungal diseases and also makes popular pharmaceutical products such as Bayer aspirin, Claritin allergy medicine and Alka Seltzer. Bayer also owns Dr Scholl’s foot products and Coppertone sunscreen.
Monsanto sells seeds for fruits, vegetables, corn, soybeans, cotton and other crops, plus Roundup weed killer. The company is a leading producer of genetically modified seeds engineered to resist drought and herbicides, among other things.
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